Tanya Byrne

Tanya Byrne
Born
Tanya Elizabeth Byrne

(1976-12-23) 23 December 1976
London, England
Occupationsnovelist, freelance journalist
Writing career
Pen nameLizzie Byron
Genres
  • young adult
  • romance
Notable workHeart-Shaped Bruise

Tanya Elizabeth Byrne (born 23 December 1976) is a British author and freelance journalist. She mostly writes young adult fiction. Byrne has also written adult fiction under the pen name Lizzie Byron.

Early life

Byrne is from East London. Her late mother was Guyanese.[1] Byrne studied Law.[2][3]

Career

Byrne began her career working for BBC Radio. After eight years at BBC, she left to write her first novel Heart-Shaped Bruise, which was published by Headline in 2012.[4][5] This was followed by Follow Me Down in 2013[6] and For Holly in 2015.

In 2018, Byrne collaborated on the novel Floored with Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson, and Eleanor Wood.[7] She also contributed to the short story anthology A Change is Gonna Come,[8] which was named a Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week,[9] and Juno Dawson's 2019 Proud anthology.[10]

Byrne moved to Hachette Children's Group (HGC) in 2019[11] for the publication of her next YA novel Afterlife in 2021.[12][13][14]

Under the pen name Lizzie Byron, Hodder & Stoughton acquired the rights to publish her debut adult romance novel Someday at Christmas in 2020.[15] Her second adult novel was Suddenly That Summer (2022).[16] As a journalist, Byron has written for The Guardian and The Pool.[17]

Byrne's next YA novels In the Shallows and Rebel Hearts were published in 2024 and 2025 respectively.[18][19]

Adaptations

In March 2021, Two Rivers Media optioned the rights to adapt Afterlove for television.[20]

Personal life

Byrne moved to Brighton in 2017 and now lives there with her dog Frida.[21] She came out as gay at age 40.[1]

Publications

Young adult

  • Heart-Shaped Bruise (2012)
  • Follow Me Down (2013)
  • For Holly (2015)
  • Floored (2018) (co-written with six other authors)
  • Afterlove (2021)
  • In the Shallows (2024)
  • Rebel Hearts (2025)

Adult

  • Someday at Christmas (2020)
  • Suddenly That Summer (2022)

Contributions

  • "Hackney Moon" in A Change is Gonna Come (2017)
  • "Almost Certainly" in Proud (2019), edited by Juno Dawson

Accolades

Year Award Category Title Result Ref.
2012 Crime Thriller Awards CWA New Blood Dagger Heart-Shaped Bruise Shortlisted [22]
National Book Awards New Writer of the Year Shortlisted [23]
2013 Branford Boase Award Longlisted [24]
2018 YA Book Prize Special Achievement Award A Change is Gonna Come Won [a][25]
2022 YA Book Prize Afterlove Shortlisted [26]

Notes

  1. ↑ Shared with fellow authors and publishers of the anthology.

References

  1. 1 2 Byrne, Tanya (11 October 2017). "Five Things I've Learned About Coming Out at 40". Medium. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  2. ↑ Selavy, Virginie (11 December 2012). "Tanya Byrne is Clarice Starling". Electric Sheep. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "An Interview with Tanya Byrne". Literature Wales. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  4. ↑ Allen, Katie (2 December 2011). "Headline hearts debut from Byrne". The Bookseller. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  5. ↑ Chilton, Martin (3 May 2012). "The Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne: review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  6. ↑ Norfolk, Pam (16 May 2013). "Book review: Follow Me Down by Tanya Byrne". The Gazette. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  7. ↑ Charlotte (12 August 2018). "Floored – Book Review". Wonderfully Bookish. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "A Change Is Gonna Come". BookTrust. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Jones, Nicolette (20 August 2017). "Children's book of the week: A Change Is Gonna Come by Mary Bello, Aisha Bushby, Tanya Byrne, Inua Ellams, Catherine Johnson, Patrice Lawrence, Ayisha Malik, Irfan Master, Musa Okwonga, Yasmin Rahman, Phoebe Roy and Nikesh Shukla". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  10. ↑ Gomez, Nick (7 March 2019). "Book Review: Proud by various authors, compiled by Juno Dawson". Culturefly. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  11. ↑ Bayley, Sian (1 November 2019). "HCG scoops Byrne's YA afterlife love story". The Bookseller. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  12. ↑ Adams, April. "Afterlove by Tanya Byrne: Book Review". The Lesbian Review. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  13. ↑ Luna, Scott (20 December 2022). "Book Review of Afterlove by Tanya Byrne". Forever Young Adult. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  14. ↑ Oldfield, Kate (29 July 2021). "Tanya Byrne On Grief, Brighton And Her Stunning New YA Novel, Afterlove". United by Pop. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  15. ↑ Mansfield, Katie (28 February 2020). "Hodder signs Tanya Byrne's festive romance". The Bookseller. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  16. ↑ "Tanya Byrne". rcwlitagency.com. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  17. ↑ Byrne, Tanya (17 July 2025). Rebel Hearts: A slow-burn queer romance about climate activism and influence. Hachette Children's Group. ISBN 978-1-4449-7223-8.
  18. ↑ Page, Eric (4 April 2024). "BOOK REVIEW: 'In the Shallows' by Tanya Byrne". Scene Mag. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  19. ↑ Gray, Rachel (1 October 2025). "The best new YA fiction for the October holidays". The Scotsman. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "Two Rivers options Tanya Byrne supernatural love story". Televisual. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  21. ↑ Tacye (4 July 2025). "Tanya Byrne On Queer Joy And Climate Justice In Rebel Hearts". United by Pop. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  22. ↑ Williams, Charlotte (24 August 2012). "CWA reveals shortlists for 2012 Crime Thriller Awards". The Bookseller. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  23. ↑ Moore, Lucy (13 November 2020). "A stellar line-up competes for the Specsavers National Book Awards Hosted by Lorraine Kelly". Female First. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  24. ↑ Chilton, Martin (16 January 2013). "2013 Branford Boase Award long-list". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  25. ↑ "Winner of the YA Book Prize 2018: After the Fire by Will Hill". The Tattooed Book. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  26. ↑ Carpenter, Caroline (19 July 2022). "YA Book Prize shortlist: Tanya Byrne talks about Afterlove". The Bookseller. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
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